The Practice of Self Love
February is the month of love, so we thought it would be a great opportunity to focus on self love. It’s wonderful to show how much we care for our loved ones, but it’s important to remember that taking time for ourselves is also a priority.
‘Self love’ can be described as a way of nurturing our mental health and wellbeing; it is being mindful and compassionate towards ourselves and can even help us cope with difficult or adverse situations.
When do you need self love? How do you know?
We are becoming so much busier in our lives, trying to get as much done as possible, trying to do our best, wanting to achieve - that we often forget to check in on ourselves. Negativity begins to manifest itself in small ways, or is triggered by a recent event. As McKayla says, ‘when daily life starts feeling too overwhelming or unmanageable, it’s usually a sign to me that I need to take some time for myself to rest and reset.’ Once you know how to identify it, it is path of learning, reflection and self discovery.
“Don’t feel guilty about ‘switching off’ - you need to more than you realize!”
Stress from work or life or the news is often the trigger for me to think “Hey, I really need to chill”. If I start to feel sluggish, uninspired, or just bummed out, then I know it’s time for me to enact some self love. Self love and self care have not always come easy to me, and it has taken years of practice, trial and error, and experimenting to really find what brings me peace when I need it. - Miranda
What triggers self love for me, is loss. Whether it’s the relative of a close friend or just someone on the news that I can relate to, I always take a step back to talk with my husband about everything for which we can be grateful and then I go for a walk to reflect. To be 1) outside, 2) near my home, and 3) without my phone, allows me to enjoy the place where I chose to live. For me, reflecting on my home is self love because it allows me to recognize all the decisions that led me to where I am in life and to be proud of how far I have come. - Jessica
Practicing self love
Self love can be practiced in the smallest of ways; they can be mindful or explorative activities which become part of a routine, or ones which break a potentially downwards spiral. Whether they’re something you do regularly or activities you save for when you really need a reset, our team is sharing some ways we practice self love in our own lives.
Different types of self love:
Impromptu, recurring, and getaways
I find the need to practice various forms of self love: impromptu, recurring, and getaways: impromptu could be taking time at night to listen to a favorite podcast, stretch, or mindlessly web surf; whatever takes my mind away from to do lists, guilt, or stress.
Recurring are things I schedule to make sure I’m keeping my mental health in check, like tele-therapy appointments and gym classes.
Lastly, longer stretches of getting away from the daily routine helps me reset, recharge and get inspired. For example, last year my husband and I took our first trip without our son to a destination that included a lot of sunshine, book reading, and good eats. I also plan trips to see old friends and family each year. I can always seem to feel the need coming on to get time with gals that have known me for so long that you just pick back up where you left off, no matter how long it has been. The nostalgia mixed with the joy and comfort of knowing that we are aging together heals my soul whenever it is feeling burned out. - Lea
Set a routine
In the simplest way, I practice self love with a daily morning routine: coffee, breakfast, stretching, learning. I take the long route to prepare coffee and a nutritional breakfast before heading into my home office. Since I no longer have a daily commute, I start the day with a podcast to learn about the world (often from WSJ or WGSN) and I stretch before opening my computer. - Jessica
“It’s hard to feel crushed by the weight of the world when you’re biking up 2,000+ feet of elevation in a simulated environment!”
Try something new
Miranda also includes a learning route as a form of self love: I often try to implement a few different forms of self love into each day. I start and end my days with a long skincare routine - It’s time for me to spend with myself, caring for myself. I also love listening to podcasts while doing mundane tasks, like cooking dinner, doing the dishes, or driving to work. It’s a great way to learn something on the way to work, or just hear an inspiring story to help me ease into the day. If I’m really in need of some cheering up, I’ll take an hour to do some yoga or I’ll hop on my bike trainer and get a Zwift route in - it’s hard to feel crushed by the weight of the world when you’re biking up 2,000+ feet of elevation in a simulated environment!
“I have to show up for myself before I can show up for anyone else”
Make it non-negotiable
Small acts of self love are a must for me daily. My favorite is preparing for success the next day: I will get everything ready for the next day the night before so my morning can run as smooth as possible. I try to spend 30 minutes every morning journaling and preparing my mindset for the day. I then have my non-negotiables to-do list, intentionally move my body, take a shower, and eat a nutritional meal. Right now self love is making sure I hit these three things everyday, no matter what. I have to show up for myself before I can show up for anyone else. Now for the big guns, not sure if Coke Zero and sushi qualify as self love, but for me, they do. This is normally during a restore day where I really focus on my favorite things and put myself first for a whole day, normally followed by thrifting or a long walk around the city. - Mallory
Keep it hands-on
I like to throw pottery on a wheel or go rock climbing. In both cases, if I’m thinking about life or work or anything else that’s stressing me out, it will affect what I’m doing, i.e. my pottery will end up lopsided or I’ll fall off the climbing wall. Nine times out of ten, once I’m done with one of these activities, I have de-stressed enough to give my brain the space to think through whatever was stressing me out before and more effectively solve the problem I was bumping up against. - McKayla
When was the last time you spent time looking after yourself? Whether it’s learning to identify when you need it, or finding new ways to practice it, self love is a wonderful experience that is always there for you. What are ways you practice self love in your life?